And without further ado, here's the edited version of chapter two! Enjoy!
I don't own Naruto and Inuyasha, or any of the characters, and I probably never will.
Naruto whined, flipping his froggy wallet from hand to hand.
Flat. Flat once again.
Kagome smiled contently, and patted her stomach affectionately, oblivious to the blond kid's despair.
Naruto whined again, this time a little louder. Kagome rolled her eyes.
"C'mon kid, cheer up. I won fair and square." Kagome smacked her lips appreciatively. Naruto let out a little whimper. "Aww. Don't be sad! You're good too!" Kagome was feeling a lot happier with a full stomach. "I'll bet, if you were trained properly, you'd be able to beat me, no prob." Naruto perked up a bit upon hearing the encouragement.
"You really think so?"
Kagome laughed. "Of course kid! You've got real potential! Like I said, I'm sure you'll beat me—"
"Well, no duh woman! This is the great Uzumaki Naruto you're talking to!" Naruto shouted, now that his spirits were back up.
"In ten years." Kagome finished, smiling victoriously as Naruto paled.
"What ever, woman." He muttered, now down again.
"And that's only if I don't train at all." Kagome added, accidentally speaking her thoughts. Naruto's yellow spikes (of hair people, hair!) drooped slightly.
"Haha." Kagome laughed nervously. "Anyways, there's still two more parts to our deal, you payed for my meal, generously, might I add, and now, there's the phone and matters of where I should crash for the night."
Naruto felt his heart jerk as little dollar bills with wings flew around his head. She just ate away, what, ten months of mission pay, and she still expects him to pay for her 'crash-pad'? Gods.
He shuddered mentally upon remembering the woman's appetite. It was one that matched his own. He remembered little of the event, and it mostly consisted of slurping, lip-smacking, action.
"Damn!" She managed to exclaim over a mouthful of ramen. "This ramen is better than anything I've ever tasted!" She chewed with vigor, and upon swallowing, brought the bowl to her mouth, and slurped down her tenth bowl.
"One more, please!" She smiled pleasantly as she shoved her bowl towards the ramen-stand manager, whose eyes were wide with surprise. He had yet to see anyone in Konoha with a passion for ramen like Naruto's. Relatives, perhaps?
Kagome cooed appreciatively as her eleventh bowl came, hot and steamy. Naruto felt his wallet lurch uncomfortably in his pocket.
With a incredibly loud slurp, a few munches, Kagome had successfully devoured her twelfth bowl. She flashed a blinding smile at Naruto, who wondered how the hell she managed to get no vegetables between her teeth after twelve bowls of ramen. His teeth were usually covered with the stuff afterwards.
"One more bowl please, mister!" She called out.
Naruto closed his eyes, cleaning the horrifying memory from his head. He heard a small 'pop' followed by a 'eep' coming from his right.
"Yo." Naruto practically cried with joy. Kakashi-sensei!
"Kakashi! Is it really you? Kakashi-sensei!" The blond, unable to control his emotions very well, sobbed loudly as he latched himself onto the surprised jounin.
Kakashi looked around, and noticed Kagome staring at the blond, surprised like he was at Naruto's action.
Kagome cleared her throat. "Hi. Kagome Higurashi, pleased to meet you. And you must be... Naruto's father? Or a relative?" Kakashi stared at the female blankly with his exposed right eye.
"Eh?" Not a man of many words, is he? "I'm not Naruto's father." He pointed a finger at the blond, who was still latched on to him tightly. "I dunno why he's acting this way, I mean, I'm pretty sure he hasn't gotten any sex-transplants. He has proved to be slightly well... different, if you know what I mean, but I didn't think he'd be this bold..." Kagome twitched visibly. Naruto quickly unlatched himself from Kakashi.
"Eeew sensei! That's disgusting! You're just like Ero-sannin! Gosh!" He turned to Kagome. "He is definitely not my father! He's my sensei! And I was only all happy and shit because I thought you'd take Kagome off my... er... that is, what I meant to say was, you and Kagome can meet!" He let out a nervous giggle.
"What did you say before about 'taking Kagome off my–"
"Kakashi-sensei! Let me tell you how I met Kagome!" Naruto practically squealed, his voice a little too high-pitched, his words dripping with a bit too much enthusiasm.
So Naruto went on to recount his meeting with Kagome to Kakashi, who looked thoroughly confused when Naruto reached the part about their competition, and the grass.
"I mean, I don't get it! Somehow, I just couldn't touch the blade of grass at all! And it burnt me too!"
When finally reaching the part about their 'battle', Naruto had skipped a few 'minor' details regarding Kagome, and added a few new details regarding his.
"...and then, I had Kagome by the throat..."
Kagome tuned out Naruto's words and replayed the battle in her mind.
The wind swirled around the two lone figures standing in the empty field. Kagome's onyx hair blew around her fragile, yet well built, frame. Her hair had grown a lot longer since she last cut it. She remembered, wistfully, that she was supposed to cut it again tomorrow, with Inuyasha.
She took out a rubber band from her pocket, collecting her hair together she quickly tied it into a ponytail.
"Let's start now, dobe." Azure eyes narrowed slightly as they locked onto dark brown ones. The word 'dobe' must've struck a nerve in the boy's body. "Or are you too scared?"
"Ladies, or rather, old ladies first, Kagome-obaasan." Kagome smirked. 'Obaasan?' the kid had nerve, she'd give him that. Though it would hardly help in this situation...
"Alright then, arigato Naruto-chan, I shall. Just don't regret it." Naruto gave her a quizzical expression, but just shrugged it off as some kind of threat from the smaller women. Besides, what was the worst she could do? Hit him with her purse?
He paled. He would be dead in seconds if she actually decided to use the monstrously huge yellow thing. (Kagome had brought it with her on her date with Hojo, harbouring some thoughts that Inuyasha might come get her, so she might as well be prepared, just in case.)
However, before he could go on to plan his own demise at the hand of the yellow monster, he felt a cool blade against his throat. He felt whatever blood that was left in his face drain out. It felt too thin to be a kunai, and the blade was too long and thin to be a throwing star, so it was... a katana?! They were rarely used nowadays, most ninja used throwing stars... (and how the hell did she hide a freaking kantana in her skirt... ah. Right. The bag.) but he had no time to think it out, he'll get it out from her later. Right now, he needed to run.
Kagome heard some odd words coming out of the young boy's mouth and he made a series of odd hand gestures. Kagome heard herself gasp in surprise when the boy of whom she had been pressing her kantana against disappear, and in his place, a stick.
Her mind whirled. Could it be a shikon jewl shard?
No. It couldn't be, she definitely would've sensed it the first time she met him. Unless her powers were going haywire. She quickly dismissed the thought.
"What tricks are you using? Or is it black magic?" She heard a jeering laughter coming from her right.
"It's called 'chakra', idiot! I'm a ninja!" Kagome smirked. He had just let out his position. The idiot.
She quickly summoned a bit of her powers, using it to cover he scent and the sound of her steps as she quickly made her way towards Naruto's hiding spot.
Ah. There was Naruto, standing right infront of her... open defences...
Kagome slashed through Naruto, Naruto had attempted to run, but he had sensed the attack a moment too late and wasn't quick enough to dodge as the blade through him. Kagome suddenly stepped back a step, horrified at what she had just done. She just killed Naruto! But all worries were replaced by confusion as the boy's body disappeared in a cloud of smoke once again.
Kagome felt her blood boil. How the hell was the boy appearing and disappearing like that? He said he was a ninja... but... ninjas can do magic? She almost laughed at the thought. But she quickly sobered up when she remembered the situation. This would definitely not help her current predicament.
It was almost as though he was invincible! Both times when she finally got him, he had escaped in a cloud of smoke, with not even getting one scratch!
But she had no time to think, for suddenly four different (or rather, completely same) Narutos came at her all wearing identical clothing and all holding a kunai in their hands. The first one came at her and swung a kick at her ribs. She dodged it, but panicked slightly when a second kick from another Naruto came towards her feet, trying to make her lose her footing. This time, rather than dodging it, she grabbed his foot, and threw him with inhuman strength towards a tree, making yell in pain, disappearing in a cloud of smoke.
Kagome felt a degree of understanding flow through her. These different Narutos were 'clones' of the original, but one hard hit could make them disappear. So she went into an offensive stance. She held her katana in both hands, pointing the tip towards the sky, and muttered 'Raikou no Kiyome' (a/n Translated roughly, it's 'Thunder of Prurification', cheesy, but it does sound a lot better in japanese, no?) and blue lightning bolts erupted from the tip of her blade, each going in a separate directon, in the shape of a cross.
Kagome stood in the middle, a pink purification shield protecting her from any damage.
The three remaining Naruto screamed out as the purification energy hit them, and popping sounds were heard as they disappeared one by one. As the blue light ebbed away slowly, a mark was embedded onto the ground in the shape of a cross.
Kagome frowned. So the real Naruto wasn't there... then she'd just have to find him herself. She knelt down and pressed her palms against the earth, muttering some strange words.
Suddenly, she felt as though she was everywhere and nowhere at once. She was one with the earth, she could feel it's pain at the abuse her (earth's) children received. She felt what the earth felt. She felt her powers draining away from her in large masses. She would have to hurry this up, the downside of the spell was that it spent her powers by quite a bit. Suddenly, she felt a familiar red aura... She quickly tried to pinpoint the location. It appeared to be around thirteen metres away from here to her right, hidden in a rather elderly oak tree.
She let a perverse smile flash cross her face.
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Dammit!
Naruto cursed silently. She was good, a lot better than he expected...and what the hell was that attack? He'd thought she'd be begging for mercy as soon as she saw his 'kagebushin no jutsu' but she just looked really pissed.
He laughed nervously.
Back to the topic at hand... Her attacks couldn't have been chakra fuelled, for it would be impossible to manipulate so much chakra at her age. Simply impossible. But if it wasn't chakra that fuelled her attacks, then what was? He had felt the small women brimming with power in her. But what was the power? .. He envied Neiji for his byakugan. With that, he was sure he would defeat her with one attack, no prob.
He hid in the trees, momentarily trying to figure out his next line of moves against her. Naruto's flaw was underestimating the women. But what should he do next?
Should he try taijitsu? No... she was fast, as he had learned from her first attack, it'd be suicide to attack straight on.
Kagebunshins again?... she'd just destroy them like before, besides, he'd just be wasting his chakra.
Should he try to use the Rasengan?...no... he saw her shield when she used her earlier attack against his kagebunshins...besides, rasengan would use up too much chakra, with his already deflating chakra caused by those kagebunshins if he used too much of his chakra at a extreme pace.. He would lose control and he might transform. He might kill her.
She was frustrating. He doesn't know where her powers came from, or rather, what her powers are, so he had to stay low and wait for her first move.
He frowned. He didn't like this at all.. He was the 'rash' type, always one to initiate attack... But now.. He couldn't do anything else but wait for her to come and pray that he'll find an weakness or an opening so he could finish her off with one rasengan. Not the most safe-proof plan, but it's that, or admit defeat, and he certainly wasn't going to pick the latter.
"Stupid Kagome... just admit defeat dammit! Stupid, ugly--"
"Aww. I love you too!" Surprised, Naruto stumbled on his branch, he would've fallen off if he hadn't transfered his chakra to his feet at the last moment. (You'd think after hanging out with the kyuubi for so long, he'd learn to get used to hearing random voices)
"Kagome! What... how did you find me?"
"I have my ways.." She smiled mysteriously. "Now let's continue, shall we?"
Kagome made a move of punching naruto from the right, he quickly blocked the oncoming attack, but nothing came, and in that split second, his feet were wiped from under him, making him fall from the tree onto a bush at the bottom with a loud thump and some illustrative words.
"That was cheap Kagome! You cheated! Cheater!" An elegant eyebrow arched up as Kagome heard the kid's words.
"Again, Naruto? Haven't I explained this already? 'All's fair in love and war', sweetie. And since our case seems to be the latter, I'd say it proves my point even more so." Naruto's eyebrows furrowed together in concentration.
There was no way he'd let her win two times in a row...
Forgetting his earlier 'plan', he called out 'RASENGAN!' and a blue ball of compressed chakra formed in his palm, swirling with energy.
She was caught off guard by the technique. Though Kagome knew how to unleash her power and manipulate it, she could not compress it into such a small form like he did, in short, Kagome was impressed. However, she was quickly snapped out of her awed state when the swirling ball of power came her way. Kagome moved aside at the last moment. She felt her hair being pulled towards the swirling ball of chakra as ball missed it's target by mere centimetres (Kagome shuddered at what would have become of her had the ball hit it's target) smashed into the tree.
Naruto growled in frustration, stupid women! How the hell was she avoiding the rasengan like that? Even Sasuke had sustained some injuries from it! Dammit all!
He sent a blunt fist towards Kagome's face, she caught it easily and sent him flying towards another tree. Hitting her mark with a satisfying thump. Naruto felt his blood boil. His eyes flashed red for a second, then resumed it's usual cerulean shade.
'No... no... stay back... don't... it's my fight.'
'Oho. Your fight that you're losing, miserably, and against a woman too?' Naruto felt some of his resistance snap. No...
'She's not ordinary! She has something inside of her.' The voice in his head snorted.
'So? If you were to let me out, let me help you by giving you some of my powers, you would defeat her in one attack, no more of this ridiculous squabble. It'll be over in one little attack...' Naruto's eyes shifted red again, this time sustaining for a longer time. Struggling with his body, he managed to force the beast back.
'NO!' he roared in his head. 'This fight is mine!'
'You will lose, pathetic human. You are useless without my powers... now submit... and you shall win... you will wipe that arrogant smirk from the woman's face if you just let me help... you're invincible when we are merged as one...' Naruto's last strand of resistance snapped.
He roared in blind rage as the Kyuubi was released. Red chakra surrounded the boy as his features darkened, his whisker-like marks on his cheeks deepened as his azure eyes turned into a deep shade of blood red filled with bloodlust as he charged at Kagome, three tails whirling behind him.
Kagome was scared now, something's different. His power changed. Before, his aura was a light blue colour, slightly tainted by red but now... she could no longer feel his aura, it was as though it had been overtaken by the red one. She carefully analysed this, her intelligence not much lower than Shikamaru's, maybe higher, allowed her to think during a second's time. She'd just have to dodge his attacks now, and see what this new opponent's strength. She dodged the fist sent her way, but was momentarily distracted when she saw it smash into the tree behind her, snapping it cleanly in half. That moment was all the Kyuubi needed to send a tail her way, striking her side as she stood their, dazed at the damage.
"AaaAH!" she cried out in pain as she felt crimson drops of blood staining her clothes. She looked down, and winced slightly when she saw the damage. The place where her side was struck by the Kyuubi's tail emited a faint hissing noise, slowly eating away at her flesh.
Her face distorted as she sent a feral snarl at the Kyuubi's way. He glanced with content at the damage he had done.
Kagome didn't think this time, she summoned her miko powers and her sides were healed in an instant, leaving small scars behind where the kyuubi's tail first struck, leaving the Demon surprised and angry. She had purified the bit of flesh where the demon's poison had set in.
She summoned her miko powers again, and was about to send a spiritual arrow in Kyuubi's way (and ending the battle once and for all) when suddenly, she noticed a faint crimson stain soaking through Naruto's shirt.
Naruto's body was bleeding at various places, places where she had not remembered even laying a finger on! An old wound reopening at the stress perhaps?
No.. That wasn't it.. The wound was healing! But as soon as the flesh covered itself, it ebbed away again, reopening the wound! And it healed again. The cycle continued for quite a while before Kagome realized that she would have to stop it. Naruto's body was put under too much strain. If this continued for much longer, the kid would die.
She mumbled a few words under her breath as she was enveloped in blue light, and she manipulated her powers so that it slowly enveloped the demon's sinister aura, the demon screamed out in pain as the blue aura threatened to consume his own, to purify him. Kagome's brow was wet with sweat from concentration.
'Just a little more...' She smiled victoriously as the power died away slowly, Naruto's features starting to return to their normal state. With one last scream, the beast finally retreated.
'I'm sorry it had to hurt so much Naruto, but you're safe now.'
Naruto groaned and fell limp, falling onto the ground. Kagome quickly caught him with her hands, and walked off the battle ground, carrying Konohagakure's number 1 most annoying an hyperactive ninja in her arms, bridal style, and unconscious.
"... I can't remember much of what happened after that, but me and Kagome got some ramen." He sniffed, sending her a dark glare. "Which I paid for, generously!"
Kakashi was rarely amazed, and when he was, everyone beside him was usually dead, or unconscious. But now, he was definitely amazed, and two healthy, unblemished teens stood in front of him, witnessing the once in a life time event.
How could Kagome stand there so... healthy, and happy after meeting up with the Kyuubi! She should be dead right now! Or at least in Konoha's hospital, which was where Jaraiya ended up in after facing the Kyuubi, unconscious for three months, and this was a man who had years of training previously. But this girl came out without a single bruise!
He quickly recalled her name from the back of his mind.
'"Hi. I'm Kagome Higurashi"... Higurashi...'
Where had he heard that last name before? Higurashi... Suddenly, Kakashi perked up.
"Naruto."
"Ne?"
"Why aren't you hurt at all? I'm sure you've sustained some injuries, if not heavy ones, from the fight." Naruto cocked his head slightly, wondering if his sensei had gone mad.
Of course there were injuries! He looked down at his body, preparing to point out some huge bruise on his body, when he realized that he had none! His eyes widened in surprise. He quickly scanned Kagome's body also. She had nothing also!
"Wha... how..." Kagome cut in at this point, looking slightly embarrassed.
"I healed the both of us after, besides," She added, at the incredulous looks on the males' faces, "There weren't any heavy injuries, just some minor scratches. I tried my best with your injuries Naruto, but you better not do anything to put too much strain on your body in the next two to four weeks. I just barely healed your internal injuries, but they might reopen if you strain your body too much."
"Ne?! But...! How? You could still use your chakra after that?! But that's amazing! Why, I'll bet you're better than Tsunade-obaasan!"
---
Tsunade suddenly let out a violent sneeze as she looked over the files concerning Konoha's financial status.
Her eyes narrowed. Naruto...
---
"It was nothing really... I mean, I do it all the time when I'm travelling with Inuyasha..." She left her sentence hanging, her mind thinking of Inuyasha. He was gonna be preeetty pissed when she got back.
This time, Kakashi spoke up. "But how could you heal the injuries at all? After subduing the Kyuubi inside of Naruto, you should've been barely conscious, not healing injuries!" Kagome just shrugged again.
"I'm a miko. It's what I do." Kakashi almost fell where he stood. Higurashi! He was the first miko to come to Konoha in three hundred years! His betrayal had left the whole village shaken. This was a descendent of the legendary Higurashi?
"How did you get here, Kagome-chan?" He asked, an innocent look on his face. A dark shadow crossed Kagome's face. A vein on her forehead burst forward.
"Oh where to start..." Kakashi paled. Why did he have such a bad feeling about this?
Hope you liked it! Enjoy! I'll try to revise chapter three as soon as possible!
Please ignore it if some parts of the story don't connect for the time being, since I'm not quite done revising all the chapters yet but I'll try my very best to fix it! Arigato!